Welcome back to QCK!
Today I want to share one of my favorite healthy recipes. Quinoa Enchilada Bake. I used to make this recipe all the time and then for some reason I kind of lost it, but it’s so perfect for quarantine I had to bring it back.
The first time I had this dish was at a friends house, they wanted to try out a new recipe for dinner so we made this and it became an instant favorite. It’s so easy, it’s healthy, and it’s versatile. You know how I love versatile recipes.
Substitutions and Add Ons
Substitutions
- Quinoa: If you don’t have or don’t like quinoa, just sub out any grain such as rice or bulgar wheat. Couscous would work as well.
- Enchilada Sauce: You can use homemade or store bought. Red or green. You pick!
- Beans: Any beans you like are just fine.
- Corn: Can be fresh or frozen, if using frozen, just mix it in still frozen. It will cook with the rest of the dish.
Add Ons
- Chicken and other proteins: If you want meat go for it! I would personally use chicken. Whatever meat you chose, be sure to cook it all the way through before adding it to the quinoa. This is a great recipe for left over rotisserie chicken!
- Literally any vegetable your heart desires is fine to throw in. Have some extra carrots that you need to use up? Dice them up and add them. Cauliflower and sweet potatoes are always a great choice as well. If you’re using hardier vegetables just be sure to cook them most or all the way through before adding them.
If You Want It Vegan
The nice thing about this dish is that it’s mainly plant based already. If you want to go the vegan route, simply omit the cheese and sour cream topping or use your favorite plant based substitutions.
If you’re interested in trying something vegan this is a great starter recipe. It doesn’t require any special processes or ingredients unless you decide to use plant based cheese or sour cream.
If you’re looking for a sauce that isn’t sour cream I would suggest this Cashew Chipotle Crema from my vegan sweet potato taco recipe.
Tips and Tricks
- When cooking quinoa, I like to use half water half vegetable stock and throw in a peeled, crushed clove of garlic. It makes it so much better. You can use any stock you have on hand.
- If you don’t want to bake this, you can also sauté your vegetables while the quinoa is cooking, combine them in a pan and add cheese or any toppings you want and eat it just like that. This is a really easy way to make this meal for one or two people and it’s a bit quicker than baking it.
- If you’re cutting this recipe down to one or two servings, you can easily use an oven safe ramekin or a small oven safe sauté pan (not non-stick and no plastic handles) if you have one. You’ll get better results if you fill a ramekin than if you have a very thin layer in a casserole pan.
- The knife work on this recipe doesn’t have to be perfect by any means, but make sure your vegetables are all similar in size.
Recipe
| Prep: 20 Mins | Cook: 30 Mins | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 4 |
Ingredients
- 2 C Cooked Quinoa
- 1/2 C Enchilada Sauce, homemade or store bought
- 1 Bell Pepper, diced
- 1/2 Red Onion, diced
- 1 Small Zucchini, diced
- 1 C Corn Kernels, fresh or frozen
- 1 C Black Beans, cooked or from a can
- 1/2 C Shredded Cheese, I used Colby Jack
- Sour Cream, Sliced Avocado, Chopped Cilantro, Pickled Jalapeños, for serving, optional
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Cook quinoa according to directions on package, making sure the total cooked is about two cups.
- In a medium bowl, combine cooked quinoa, enchilada sauce, bell pepper, onion, zucchini, corn (if using frozen just add it while it’s still frozen), and beans.
- Place into a lightly greased 9×9 casserole dish and cover with tin foil.
- Bake 10 minutes covered.
- Remove foil and bake uncovered another 10-15 minutes or until zucchini is cooked all the way through.
- Add cheese on top and finish baking until cheese is melted, 5-7 minutes.
- Serve warm with sour cream, avocado, cilantro and jalapeños or refrigerate up to 3 days.
As always, I hope you enjoyed this recipe! If you tried it out let me know in the comments. For more recipes check out my homepage and follow along on Instagram. Don’t forget to like, follow, comment and share. Thanks for reading!
Quarter Cup Kitchen 